How to say "ordnance" in Japanese

• 武器ぶきJLPT N3approx.Common
  nounThe general word for a weapon of any kind, military or civilian; it covers 'ordnance' in the loose sense of 'arms' and is what you use whenever English simply says 'weapon'.
  その軍隊ぐんたいは十分じゅうぶんな武器ぶきを持もっていた。↗

  The troops had plenty of arms.
• 兵器へいきJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe military term: weapons and armaments as instruments of war, which is the central sense of English 'ordnance'; choose it when the context is armed forces or military hardware.
  核兵器かくへいきを全面的ぜんめんてきに禁止きんしして初はじめて、兵器へいき競争きょうそうを止とめさせることができる。↗

  Only by prohibiting nuclear weapons altogether can we stop the arms race.
• 砲ほうCommon
  noun, noun (suffix)Really the word for guns, cannon and artillery, so it matches 'ordnance' only in that narrow sense; for ordnance as weapons in general it is seldom the word you want.

Use 武器 for weapons of any kind, 兵器 when the weapons in question are military armaments, and 砲 only for the artillery sense of 'ordnance' — guns and cannon — not for weapons generally.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 武器ぶきweapon
• 兵器へいきarms
• 砲ほうgun